Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez addressed the media ahead of the AFC Champions League Matchday 4 game against Al-Wehdat, stressing on the difficulty of the clash and calling on his players to give their best.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “The next game against Al-Wehdat will be tougher. Yes, we defeated them 3-1 in the last game, but I know they will be strong opponents for us in the next game.”
He added: “This is an important game for us. We are now relying on ourselves (to qualify for the next round) in the next three matches. we must give our best to get the victory and the points that will help us to top the group.”
“In the last match against Al-Wehdat, we performed well and we must be fully prepared to continue that. So far we are playing well, and our goal will be to show an ideal performance in the next three matches, and to be better for 90 minutes, not just in one half.”
The coach also said: “Champions League matches are always the most difficult and it is not easy to impose your style of play on the rest of the teams. I expect a more difficult match tomorrow than the previous one. We have 4 points now and we can rely on ourselves to achieve our goal.”
When asked about the short gaps between matches and if it puts pressure on the players, Xavi said: “The pressure of the matches is not the reason for the decline in performance. It’s because of the strength of the competitors, and this happens with all teams. We always try to give our our best, and we need to win and collect the points.”
Xavi concluded by saying, “We seek to win every match. We are Al Sadd team, we are very strong and we must translate that on the field.”
